Brilliantly synthesizing philosophy, literature, science, memoir and his own detective work, Eating Animals explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits-from folklore to pop culture to family traditions and national myth-and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting.

You might remember Safran Foer for his incredible book (which was made into a movie starring Elijah Wood) titled Everything Is Illuminated.

Anyways, Portman reveals that as a result of the book, she plans on becoming much more involved with animal rights. “There are certain things you can have different opinions on, but then other things, like torturing animals, [are] just wrong,” she said.